BEIJING, Dec. 29 -- As names of some famous domestic films have been registered as brands by some companies, legal experts have warned that film makers should be aware of the commercial value of their movies and to protect their economic interests. CR
I reporter Zhou Yun has more.

One after another, domestic
companies in China take advantage of successful films and make their titles into
brand names.

Latching on to the astounding popularity
of the film "Kung Fu Hustle", a Beijing paint company has taken the title and
registered it as its brand name. Another box office winner "A World Without
Thieves" has also been registered as a brand name by a science and technology
company in Beijing.

By doing so, companies hope they can catch the eyes
of potential consumers and, of course, sell more products. Such behavior has
aroused strong protests from filmmakers, who think the practice infringes on
their intellectual property rights. As a result, several lawsuits have been
filed.

However, Li Mingzu a senior legal expert, says though
the film itself is copyrighted material, current laws don't protect their names
from being used.

"According to verdicts of past cases, the use of a
film name as a brand doesn't violate intellectual property laws. And film titles
won't be protected by intellectual property right laws."

However, Li Guoming, secretary-general of the China
Filmmaker Association says film-makers still can better protect their own
rights, if they can make good use of the added value of their works.

"Our film-makers are not very clear how big their
films' commercial values are. Their major income is ticket sales, however,
foreign film makers go far beyond that." }

He suggests Chinese film-makers seek to have their
films published overseas or use film names for toy, costume and even software
brands.